1924 Tour de France

Riders and the follow cars during stage 15 of the 1924 Tour de France.

The 1924 Tour de France was the eighteenth edition of the race. It was total length of 5,425 kilometers (3,371 miles), consisted of 15 stages, and was raced at an average speed of 23.97 km/h (14.90 mph). Of the one hundred and fifty seven cyclist that started, sixty racers finished the race.

A new rule during the 1923 Tour de France awarded a two minute time bonus to the winner of each stage. Desgrange, the race organizer of the Tour de France, was pleased with the way the time bonuses worked out during the 1923 tour. He changed the bonus to three minutes at the 1924 edition of the race.

One of the most dramatic events of the 1924 race was when the previous year's winner, Henri Pelissier, abandoned the race during the third stage. 

Pelissier's argument with Desgranger began during the second stage. The second stage was 371 kilometers in length (230.53 miles) and took most of the racers over fourteen hours to complete. The stage began in the early morning hours when it was still cool. Pelissier wore a couple of jerseys at the beginning of the stage. Later in the day he discarded one of them. Another team's director saw him throwing away the jersey and reported it to race officials. There was a rule at this time that stated that the racers had to finish each stage with everything that they had started the stage with. Pelissier was given a time penalty for discarding the jersey. 

During the third stage Henri Pelissier was outraged by his treatment and abandoned the race. It was cold at the early start of the stage. Pellissier wore several jerseys to stay warm. Race officials stopped him several times during the stage to count the number of jerseys he had on. The officials wanted to see if he had discarded any of them. Henry was infuriated by this and found it disrespectful. When he abandoned the race he also talked his brother, Francis Pelissier, and another racer, Maurice Ville, into quitting also.  It was easy to convince Ville into quitting, since he was having problems with his knees.

Click here to learn more about Henri Pelissier.


The previous years edition, the 1923 Tour de France, was won by Henri Pellissier. After he won he stated that his Automoto teammate, Ottavio Bottecchia, will win the next Tour de France. Bottecchia finished second to Pellissier at the 1923 tour. It was Bottecchia's first time riding the Tour de France. 

Victor Lenaers taking a quick break during the third stage of the 1924 Tour de France.

Ottavio Bottecchia did in fact win the 1924 Tour de France. He was the first Italian to win the Tour de France. Bottecchia was also the first rider to ever wear the yellow jersey of the race leader from the beginning to very end of the race, without even once loosing it to another rider.

Ottavio Bottecchia at the 1924 Tour de France

Stage five of the 1924 Tour de France was the longest stage ever in tour history. It was 482 kilometers (299.50 miles) in length. The stage started in Les Sables and ended in Bayonne. It took the winning rider, Omer Huyse,  nineteen hours and 40 minutes to complete it. This stage was not included in future tours.

Bottecchia dominated stage six of the race, which contained the four tough Alpine climbs of: the Aubisque, the Tourmalet, the Aspin and the Peyresourde. When he crossed the finish line, in Luchon, he was almost nineteen minutes ahead of the second rider to arrive. 

The General Classification after stage 6:

1. Ottavio Bottecchia - race leader
2. Lucien Buysse - 30 minutes 21 seconds behind the race leader
3. Nicolas Frantz - 42 minutes 15 seconds behind the race leader

Robert Jacquinot climbs the Aubisque during the 1924 Tour de France

Bottecchia could have mostly like repeated his previous day's performance in stage 7. Stage 7 was the second day of climbing in the Pyreneese Mountains. He rode to the finish with two other riders: Phillippe Thys and Arsene Alancourt. 

Phillippe Thys during stage 6 of the 1924 Tour de France

Nicolas Frantz had a standout performance in the tenth stage of the race. This stage in the Alps contained the three climbs: the Allos, the Vars and the Izoard. Frantz was first over all three of the climbs and finished in second place behind the stage winner Giovanni Brunero. Bottecchia was following closely behind through out the stage and Frantz was only able to gain nine minutes on his lead.

The General Classification after stage 10:

1. Ottvio Bottecchia - race leader

2. Nicolas Frantz - 41 minutes 52 seconds behind the race leader

3. Giovanni Brunero 45 minutes 37 seconds behind the race leader

Ottavio Bottecchia climbing the Izoard during the 1924 Tour de France

No one gained much time on Bottecchia during the remaining five stages of the race. He punctuated his tour victory by winning the sprint, the final stage and the overall Tour de France on the last day in Paris. 

The Final 1924 Tour de France General Classification:

1. Ottavio Bottecchia (Automoto) - Race Winner - 226 hours 18 minutes 21 seconds

2. Nicolas Frantz (Alcyon) - 35 minutes 36 seconds behind the race winner

3. Lucien Buysse (Automoto) 1 hour 32 minutes 13 seconds behind the race winner

4. Bartolomeo Almo (Legnano) 1 hour 32 minutes 47 seconds behind the race winner

5. Theophile Beeckman (Griffon) 2 hours 11 minutes 12 seconds behind the race winner

Ottavio Bottecchia -  Winner of the 1924 Tour de France

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Nicolas Frantz - second place finisher of the 1924 Tour de France

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Lucien Buysse - third place finisher at the Tour de France

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Bartolomeo Aimo - fourth place finisher at the 1924 Tour de France

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Theophile Beeckman - fifth place finisher at the 1924 Tour de France

1923 Tour de France

A traffic jam during the 1923 Tour de France

The 1923 Tour de France was the fifth Tour de France to take place after the end of World War I. It was made up of fifteen stages that covered 5,386 kilometers (3,347 miles) and was raced at an average speed of 24.23 KPH (15.06 MPH). The race started out with 139 riders, and only 48 of them finished. 

The bike industry was recovering from World War I and was able to sponsor riders under their own teams for the first time since the war began. They had to combine their resources to sponsor riders under the name La Sportive in the other four years since the end of the war. 

Automoto was the power-house team of the 1923 Tour de France. It had the dominate French bicycle racer at the time Henri Pelissier and his brother Francis Pelissier. Francis Pelissier was a champion cyclist too. 

Francis and Henri Pelissier having some fun during the 15th stage of the 1923 Tour de France.

Having business interests in Italy, Automoto, wanted some of their Italian racers to compete in the 1923 Tour de France. Several of their Italian team members were hired to travel to France for the race. Only one racer made the journey, Ottavio Bottecchia. The young Bottecchia had only turned pro the previous year. Two weeks before the start of the 1923 Tour he had finished in fifth place overall in the 1923 Giro de Italia. Automoto decided the plan to use Italians wasn't worth while with only one Italian making the trip, and they planned to send him back. At the last minute they decided to let Bottecchia ride the 1923 Tour de France. The only French words Ottavio Bottecchia knew when he first arrived in France was "No bananas, lots of coffee, thank you."

Ottavio Bottecchia in his team jersey

There were a couple of important changes made to the rules of the Tour de France in 1923. One of those rule changes was the addition of time bonuses for stage winners. The winner of each stage had two minutes deducted from his time. The other rule change was that the riders would now be able to swap out parts instead of repairing them. They could be aided by team directors and receive parts from them, but they were not allowed to receive them from other riders on their team. The second rule change was made so that the winner would be decided more by the ability of the racer, rather than dependent on good luck. Several times in previous editions of the Tour de France the lead rider had suffered a mechanical which cost him the overall victory. 

The riders were still required to finish each stage with everything they began the stage with. The items they had to carry to the end of the stages included tires that had been flattened and warm cloths they had on when they began the long stages in the cool early morning hours.

Francis and Henri Pellisier had not raced the Tour de France since they withdrew during the 1920 edition. They were both considered by many to be the most talented professional bicycle racers in France. During the 1920 Tour de France both Pellisier Brothers quit the race after Henri was given a two minute time penalty for throwing away a flatten tubular tire after changing it. They had an ongoing fued with the race organiser Henri Desgrange. It was a two way grudge. Desgrange wrote of Henri in his newspaper, L'Auto, "This Pelissier knows nothing about suffering, he'll never win the Tour." Henri Pellisier had won all the other major races in France during 1923 except the Tour de France. In recent years the Tour had been dominated by Belgian cyclists. Desgrange knew that if the Pellisiers raced the Tour de France it would be good for the race and the circulation of his newspaper, L'Auto. Henri Desgrange wrote an article in his newspaper saying that Henri Pellisier was too old to win the Tour de France, and would never enter the race. That same day the Pellisiers signed up to enter the 1923 Tour de France. 

Henri Pellisier repairing a punctured tire during stage 12 of the 1923 Tour de France.

Ottavio Bottecchia's ability was obvious from the very early stages of the Tour. He finished the first stage in second place and won the second stage in a sprint finish. At the end of the second stage Botttechia was wearing the yellow jersey of the race leader. 

The Pelissier brothers, Henri and Francis, showed their domaince in the third stage. The third stage was from Cherbourg to Brest and 405 kilometers (256.66 miles) in length. Henri won the stage and Francis came in second. Bottecchia had a flat tire, but only lost 37 seconds on the stage, and retained his spot as overall race leader.

During the fourth stage Henri Pelissier was given a two minute penalty for throwing away a punctured tire. Bottecchia also suffered a flat tire and the overall race lead was taken over by Robert Jacquinot.

Nothing really changed during the fifth stage of the 1923 Tour de France. The top three places were:

1. Romain Bellenger

2. Hector Tiberghien @ 3 minutes 15 seconds

3. Ottavio Bottecchia @ 3 minutes 54 seconds

The Sixth stage contained the mountain climbs of the Aubisque, the Tourmalet, the Aspin and the Peyresourde. It was 326 kilometers (202.57 miles) in length. Robert Jacquinot was known as a sprinter, but in the sixth stage he was the first racer over the first three climbs.  It looked as if Jacquinot would take over the race leader's position. While climbing the Peyresourde, he ran out of energy and fell off his bike. Jean Alavoine passed him and won the mountainous stage. Jacquinot got back on his bike and finished the stage in sixth place, 16 minutes behind Alavoine. Henri Pelissier finished twenty three minutes behind Alavoine.  Bottechia crossed the finish line  over 27 minutes after the stage six winner. Bottecchia took over the yellow jersey of race leader at this point in the Tour.

Below are the top three places after the first mountain stage of the 1923 Tour de France:

1. Ottavio Bottecchia

2. Jean Alavoine @ 8 minutes 28 seconds

3. Romain Bellenger @ 21 minutes 50 seconds

Henri Pelissier on the Tourmalet during the 1923 Tour de France.

Jean Alavoine went on to win the seventh stage, which was in the Pyrenees mountains. Bellenger, Bottecchia and the Pelissier brothers were able to stay with him this time and finished with the same time for the stage. There were no changes to the overall general classification after the seventh stage.

Bellenger had a bad day during the eighth stage. He lost twenty minutes to Bottecchia and twelve minutes to Alavoine. This moved Henri Pelissier up in the standing to third place. 

The top three spots after the eight stage were:

1. Ottavio Bottecchia

2. Jean Alavoine @ 14 minutes 19 seconds

3. Henri Pelissier @ 22 minutes 8 seconds

The positions of the overall general classification stayed unchanged for the most part up until the tenth stage. The tenth stage was the first alpine stage and contained the mountain passes of the Allos, the Vars and the Izoard. Henri Pelissier planned to attack his teammate, Bottecchia, even though he was wearing the yellow jersey of the race leader. Francis Pelissier was riding with an injured knee, but was determined to help his brother win the stage. On the first stage a break from the field contained Buysse, Alancourt, Alavoine, Bottechia and Henri Pelissier. Pelissier noticed that Bottechia was riding in too big of a gear and attached on the climb. In order to change gears on his bicycle Bottechia would have had to stop and take his rear wheel off and turn it around. He would have lost even more time if he had of stopped to make this gear change. Henri Pelissier rode away from Buysse, Alavoine and the rest of the riders on the final climb of the Izoard. He won the stage and took over the race leader's position of the 1923 Tour de France.

The top three spots now were:

1. Henri Pelissier

2. Jean Alavoine @ 11 minutes 25 seconds

3. Ottavio Bottecchia @ 13 minutes 16 seconds

Francis stayed with his brother Henri Pelissier and helped him win the eleventh stage, which contained the Galibier and the Aravis mountains.  Bellinger was in second place, eight minutes behind them. Bottechia finished the stage almost fourteen minutes behind the Pelissier brothers in fifth place. There was little chance that Henri would not win the Tour after the time gains he made during this stage.

After the last mountain stage of the 1923 Tour de France the top three positions were:

1. Henri Pelissier

2. Ottavio Bottecchia @ 29 minutes 12 seconds

3. Romain Bellenger @ 1 hour 5 minutes 14 seconds

Romain Bellenger winning stage 13 in a sprint finish.

The remaining stages of the 1923 Tour de France were relatively flat and offered little chance of gaining time. Henri Pelliser went on to win the 1923 Tour de France. He saw the talent of his Italian teammate, Ottavio Bottecchia and said after the end of the Tour "Bottecchia will succeed me." Bottecchia did go on to win the 1924 Tour de France.

Ottavio Bottecchia leading the field during the fifteenth stage of the 1923 Tour de France.

The race organizer, Henri Desgrange, was happy to have a french rider win the 1923 Tour de France. Henri Pelissier was the first Frenchman to win the Tour since 1911. Sales of Desgrange's newspaper, L'Auto, went up tremendously after Pelissier's victory.

The top five final places in the overall general classification of the 1923 Tour de France were:

1. Henri Pelissier (Automoto): 222 hours 15 minutes 30 seconds

2. Ottavio Bottecchia (Automoto) @ 30 minutes 41 seconds

3. Romain Bellenger (Peugeot) @ 1 hour 4 minutes 43 seconds

4. Hector Tiberghien (Peugeot) @ 1 hour 29 minutes 16 seconds

5. Arsene Alancourt (Armor) @ 2 hours 6 minutes 40 seconds

Henri Pelissier, winner of the 1923 Tour de France.
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Ottavio Bottecchia, second place finisher of the 1923 Tour de France.
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Romain Bellenger, third place finisher of the 1923 Tour de France.
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Hector Tiberghien, fourth place finisher of the 1923 Tour de France.
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Arsene Alancourt, fifth place finisher of the 1923 Tour de France.
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Henri Pelissier

Henri Pelissier (1889 - 1935) was a French racing cyclist from Paris and champion of the 1923 Tour de France.


Pelissier was one of four brothers, three of whom became professional cyclists. He began racing professionally in 1911 and amassed important victories before the First World War, including the 1912 Milan-San Remo and three stages in the 1914 Tour de France.

Pélissier brothers (l to r) Henri, Charles, Francis

One day in August of 1911 while walking on the edge of Paris Henri Pelissier met Lucien Petit-Breton, one of the great cycling hereos of the day. Petit-Breton had already ridden the Tour de France four times and won it in 1907 and 1908. He asked Pelissier if he would like to travel to Italy with him to race. Six hours later they were on a train to Milan.


Their first race was the Tour of Romany-Tuscany. Pelissier crashed and didn't finish. But he won Turin-Florence-Rome and the Tour of Lombardy. 


 In his first time racing the Tour de France, Pelissier finished second in 1914 less than two minutes behind Philippe Thys of Belgium. He won the 10th, 12th and 15th stages.


 In 1923 Henri Pelissier  won the Tour de France at the age of 34. During his career he also won Milan - San Remo, Paris - Brussels, Paris - Roubaix twice, Tours of Lombardy three times, Bordeaux - Paris and Paris Tours.

Pelissier was repeatedly at war with organisers, sponsors and the press. When  he went training, he urged his friends to take it easy - "it's important not to wear yourself out" he advised - but never letting on that he had been out at dawn for 40 kilometres of "speed training".


He dismissed his rivals with a sneer. "The others are cart horses; I'm a thoroughbred," he said during the Tour de France. The next day Pelissier had a flat tire and the whole field left him and his brother Francis 30 minutes behind. 

Pelissier rode his last Tour de France in 1925. He did not finish. He stopped racing in 1927 and did nothing for two years. Then he returned to the sport as a motorcycle-pacer and team manager. He had little success at either. 


Henri Pelissier's first wife, Leonie, despaired and shot herself in 1933.  A few years later Pelissier had a girl friend, Camille Tharault, who was 20 years younger than him. He threatened her with a knife at least once. On May 1, 1935 he and Camille had an argument in the kitchen of their Norman-style villa outside of Paris. Pelissier lunged at her with a knife, cutting her face. She ran to the bedroom, opened a drawer and pulled out the revolver with which Leonie had shot herself. She ran back to the kitchen and found Pelissier waiting with the knife. Camille pulled the trigger five times. Pelissier fell to the floor. A bullet had hit his carotid artery. His body was placed in the room where Leonie had killed herself. 


Camille's trial opened a year later, almost to the day. She pleaded self-defence and on May 26, 1936, she got a year's suspended jail sentence. It was as close as the court could come to acquitting her.